“A grassroots movement to redraw Oregon’s border is gaining traction after voters in 11 rural, conservative counties approved measures this year that would start the process of seceding from the blue state and joining Republican-dominated Idaho,” NBC News reports.

“In Oregon’s Wallowa County, just eight votes separated those who support the Greater Idaho movement from those who oppose it last week, the county clerk said. Tuesday is the deadline to resubmit ballots that either did not have signatures or had signatures that did not match county records.”

“In the first half of 2023, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs frustrated people across the political spectrum, including the Democratic attorney general and secretary of state,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Now she is overhauling her office to turn it around.”

“Debate surrounding Florida’s new restrictions on gender-affirming care focused largely on transgender children,” the AP reports.

“But a new law that Republican presidential candidate and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last month also made it difficult – even impossible – for many transgender adults to get treatment.”

Wall Street Journal: “The number of homeless people in California grew about 50% between 2014 and 2022. The state, which accounts for 12% of the U.S. population, has about half of the nation’s unsheltered homeless, an estimated 115,000 people, according to federal and state data last year. It also has among the highest average rent and median home prices in the U.S.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) appointed former Secretary of State John Scott as interim Texas attorney general, temporarily replacing Ken Paxton, who was suspended as attorney general pending the outcome of an impeachment trial in the state Senate, the Texas Tribune reports.

“On the verge of the NBA finals, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has proposed a ‘friendly wager’ with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with a happy Disney ending should the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat,” the Denver Post reports.

“The championship matchup starts on Thursday and Polis suggests that the Walt Disney World Resort pull up stakes from the Sunshine State and land in colorful Colorado should the Nuggets beat the Heat.”

Indiana state Rep. Jim Lucas (R) “was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of drunken driving after crashing his vehicle at an Interstate 65 interchange and leaving the scene,” the AP reports.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) “is expected to sign a bill that would make Illinois the first state to legislate to end book bans – by punishing publicly-funded institutions that attempt to censor in that way,” The Guardian reports.

“A historic impeachment trial in Texas to determine whether Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton should be permanently removed from office will begin no later than August in the state Senate, where the jury that would determine his future could include his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton,” the AP reports.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) “and Democratic leaders said they are building support for future elections. Issues like abortion and guns, considered so polarizing in the U.S., can be harnessed and made into successful policy and politics,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Some Democrats say Whitmer is doing what many others in the party have tried, but failed to do: pursue a long-held version of a progressive goal but not in a way that’s likely to provoke a backlash.”

“In a history-making late-afternoon vote, a divided Texas House chose Saturday to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, temporarily removing him from office over allegations of misconduct that included bribery and abuse of office,” the Texas Tribune reports.

“The vote to adopt the 20 articles of impeachment was 121-23.”

“Attention next shifts to the Texas Senate, which will conduct a trial with senators acting as jurors and designated House members presenting their case as impeachment managers.”

Washington Post: “The move against Paxton was engineered by his fellow Republicans, who have long controlled all three branches of state government.”

Donald Trump rallied around Attorney General Ken Paxton as the Texas House prepares for a historic impeachment vote today, the Dallas Morning News reports.

Said Trump: “I love Texas, won it twice in landslides, and watched as many other friends, including Ken Paxton, came along with me. Hopefully Republicans in the Texas House will agree that this is a very unfair process that should not be allowed to happen or proceed — I will fight you if it does.”

New York Times: Paxton is counting on political support that he’s amassed as a Republican legal firebrand.

“The Republican-led Texas House of Representatives has set a historic Saturday vote to possibly impeach embattled state Attorney General Ken Paxton and suspend him from office, just as some prominent conservatives began to rally around him,” NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reports.

“Paxton, a 60-year-old Republican, finds himself on the brink of impeachment after years of scandal, criminal charges and corruption accusations. The House will consider a resolution calling for Paxton’s impeachment at 1 p.m. Saturday.”

Texas Tribune: “In revealing it had been secretly investigating Paxton since March — and then recommending his impeachment on Thursday — a Republican-led state House committee sought to hold Paxton accountable in a way the GOP has never come close to doing.”

“It amounted to a political earthquake, and while it remains to be seen whether Paxton’s ouster will be the outcome, it represents a stunning act of self-policing.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) called the the recent legislation successful “the most successful… in many of our lifetimes and maybe in Minnesota history,” MinnPost reports.

“With a DFL trifecta and more money to spend than any Legislature ever — even adjusted for inflation — nearly every plank of the DFL platform was fulfilled.”

Associated Press: “Paxton, who served five terms in the House and one in the Senate before becoming attorney general, is sure to still have allies in Austin.”

“A likely one is his wife, Angela, a two-term state senator who could be in the awkward position of voting on her husband’s political future. It’s unclear whether she would or should participate in the Senate trial, where the 31 members make margins tight.”

However, it gets complicated: “Paxton’s impeachment deals with an extramarital affair he acknowledged to members of his staff years earlier.”

“In an unprecedented move, a Texas House committee voted Thursday to recommend that Attorney General Ken Paxton be impeached and removed from office, citing a yearslong pattern of alleged misconduct and lawbreaking that investigators detailed one day earlier,” the Texas Tribune reports.

“If a majority of the 149-member House approves the articles before the regular legislative session ends Monday, senators would need to convene a special session to hear the case.”